Apple's Beats Brand to Debut New Wire-Free Powerbeats in April

[amartinez1660]

To everybody excited about these “workout headphones”, please don’t.
It’s supposed to be water resistant but it’s not at all. A couple of months of heavy workouts, long running sessions, etc will most probably render them impaired: either one side stops emitting sound, the mic/command button stops sending commands, it will refuse to charge and worst of all, at some point IT WILL stop turning on.
Trust me, I have been through TWO Powerbeats 2 (around 7 months of life each) , one Powerbeats 3 (4 months) and now one Beats X that I received as a company gift and I’m already sending it to repair tomorrow (and I don’t want a replacement, I hate these headphones by now).
There are videos online on how to DIY, I tried it when warranty expired on one of them but it just squeezed a couple more months of life.
And it’s sad because the sound and connectivity of them is actually great... just, don’t do workouts with them.

 

[partsofspeech]

this is why airpods wasn't designed to stay in your ears when working out/running, so apple can sell you the beats for your working out/running.

As hoc solution is what Apple is good at after Jobs, They have lost the grip of systematic solution.

 

[jonblatho]

What is the return on investment (ROI) on the $ 3 billion purchase?

Apple Music was the ROI. They bought Beats for Beats Music. They've made their money back already.

 

[drumcat]

I'm actually excited to get something with an H1 chip that doesn't make my ears sear in pain after two minutes. Awesome!

 

[Tech198]

I guess you need ruggedness in Powerbeats.

 

[Machead2012]

Can someone explain what the purpose was of Apple buying Beats that they couldn't design on their own?
What is the return on investment (ROI) on the $ 3 billion purchase? Curated this or curated that was very big in the beginning had died out in conversations also.
So what did Apple really gain by Beats?

Absolutely nothing!
Steve would have NEVER let this deal fly.
Beats are overrated and overpriced garbage.

 

[bluecoast]

I hope they launch a noise reduction set of earbuds using the new H1 chip. If the clean lines of the AirPods can’t be sullied with the extra components that noise reduction requires, Apple seems way less precious about the techno-baroque style of Beats.

 

[yegon]

Airpods fit great in my ears, love them, but find them absolutely useless at the gym due to zero noise isolation. Whacking up to high volume might assuage this to a degree but it’s a very bad idea for the health of your ears.

I use Libratone Track+ at the gym and other noisy environments, form factor similar to BeatsX, but imo much better - fairly impressive noise cancelling, connects to two devices simultaneously ie iPhone and iPad, pause on one, resume on other. Can’t recommend them enough.

In quiet environments, I adore the AirPods for podcasts and phone calls. Ordered the new ones immediately, my old launch batteries are hugely degraded. Not a complaint, nature of small battery capacity and heavy usage.

 

[JGIGS]

Can someone explain what the purpose was of Apple buying Beats that they couldn't design on their own?
What is the return on investment (ROI) on the $ 3 billion purchase? Curated this or curated that was very big in the beginning had died out in conversations also.
So what did Apple really gain by Beats?

Market share is market share. Profit is profit. I’m sure there are still a decent amount of customers loyal to Beats.

 

[lambertjohn]

I've been running with AirPods since they were released and have not had a single issue with them falling off or moving.

Yeah, but that's you. Not all of us have your shape ears, or run with the same gate, speed, bounce, etc. The first time I ran my six minute miles with AirPods in, one went flying out. I ended up getting some Plantronics BackBeat FIT earbuds for workouts and they've been great. So yeah, just by the nature of their design, I'd buy these Beats earbuds for workouts over AirPods every time.

 

[BeefCake 15]

Beats Music. Which is now...
wait for it...
 Music.

They could've done that in-house though for cheaper

 

[Abazigal]

Can someone explain what the purpose was of Apple buying Beats that they couldn't design on their own?
What is the return on investment (ROI) on the $ 3 billion purchase? Curated this or curated that was very big in the beginning had died out in conversations also.
So what did Apple really gain by Beats?

Word was that Apple wanted Iovine and his connections with the entertainment industry.

They were basically hiring him.

 

[bwillwall]

this is why airpods wasn't designed to stay in your ears when working out/running, so apple can sell you the beats for your working out/running.

Even if that were true, most people would have no reason to buy both.

 

[Whathappened]

What's stopping apple from offering Airpods in this form factor as an alternative and call them Active Airpods or something similar. Beats branding seem redundant especially since Apple branding is much more recognizable and perceived to be more premium.

I know people who like Beats but don’t like Apple.

Word was that Apple wanted Iovine and his connections with the entertainment industry.

They were basically hiring him.

I don’t think so. They bought the brand as many kids found Beats cooler and fresher than Apple which often was their parents favorite.

 

[mdelvecchio]

this is why airpods wasn't designed to stay in your ears when working out/running, so apple can sell you the beats for your working out/running.

Nonsense. It depends entirely on your ears. Mine stay in my ears for two hour workouts without issue. Every time.
[doublepost=1553352311][/doublepost]

Now if only everyone in the world had your same exact ears

You missed the point. The comment he was replying to made a conspiracy theory claim that Apple intentionally designed APs to fall out of ears on purpose. Which is simply untrue BS. May not work for some people, but do work for most people. Your ears may vary.

 

[ilikewhey]

Nonsense. It depends entirely on your ears. Mine stay in my ears for two hour workouts without issue. Every time.
[doublepost=1553352311][/doublepost]
You missed the point. The comment he was replying to made a conspiracy theory claim that Apple intentionally designed APs to fall out of ears on purpose. Which is simply untrue BS. May not work for some people, but do work for most people. Your ears may vary.

i could also say may work for some people, but do not work for most people.

 

[redscull]

Even if that were true, most people would have no reason to buy both.

I use AirPods at work because they're really easy to put in my ear and remove for meetings/calls. But they're pointless for music because the battery life is so short (<2 hours).

I use my PowerBeats for music, whether that's a workout or doing household chores or whatever else, because I have zero worry about them falling out, and the battery lasts so long (10+ hours). But they're a pain to hook over my ears and turn on/off so I'd never use them for work meetings where I need to quickly hop in and out of calls.

Removing th cord on a new version would be cool, but if they lose battery life in the process, I at least would immediately lose interest in a new pair. The amazing battery life and secondly, the durability vs AirPods, are the only reason for me to own PowerBeats in addition to AirPods. And AirPods are just too handy for work to ever give them up.

 

[hiphopdan]

Congrats on being included in the size that fits the one size fits "all" design of Airpods. For the rest of us, they suck. They stay in one of my ears perfect, but the other one falls out immediately after putting it in.

I'd love to be an airpod user but I unfortunately have this same issue. It's silly to think that AirPods would fit every single ear size.

I'm currently using a pair of Powerbeats2 and can't decide if I'd prefer to cut the wire in these or not. It's kinda nice being able to let them hang from my neck after a workout. Of course it was also impossible to share these with my GF while watching a movie during a flight due to the cord.

 

[Just sayin...]

My Bose SoundSport Wireless headphones have been great, but they have recently started to discharge faster (about 1 to 1.5 hrs is all I can get), and the charging case no longer works. They are only 1 yr 3 mo old, but the Bose store tells me I am out of luck and need to buy a new pair. Guess I’ll be shopping these new wirefree Powerbeats now...

And, Airpods do not stay in my right ear - they fall out. Left ear? Better, but loose.

 

[Khedron]

My Bose SoundSport Wireless headphones have been great, but they have recently started to discharge faster (about 1 to 1.5 hrs is all I can get), and the charging case no longer works. They are only 1 yr 3 mo old, but the Bose store tells me I am out of luck and need to buy a new pair. Guess I’ll be shopping these new wirefree Powerbeats now...

And, Airpods do not stay in my right ear - they fall out. Left ear? Better, but loose.

Beats will fall apart 2-3 times faster than Bose

 

[Just sayin...]

Beats will fall apart 2-3 times faster than Bose

My Bose SoundSports still fit/sound great. But, after 1.3 Yr, they’re dying - with no warranty love from Bose. If the Beats will last > 1-1/2 yr, I’m fine with that (I use them every day).

 

[bwillwall]

I use AirPods at work because they're really easy to put in my ear and remove for meetings/calls. But they're pointless for music because the battery life is so short (<2 hours).

There's something wrong with your AirPods

 

[Khedron]

My Bose SoundSports still fit/sound great. But, after 1.3 Yr, they’re dying - with no warranty love from Bose. If the Beats will last > 1-1/2 yr, I’m fine with that (I use them every day).

Beats also only get 1 year warranty, and you'll be lucky if you get that long out of them. Check some user reviews before you buy.

 

[aknabi]

Well if they haven't sorted out the issues with sweat from the current PB then they're still useless... I swapped 6 pairs in 8 months until finally the Apple Store said "We're refunding your money... these aren't designed for heavy workouts"... now I do run half-marathons and lift 3 times a week... but they had LeBron pitching these?! At least they were somewhat honest in their kind-of-admission that Beats are overpriced, not quality audio gear... kinda like wearing Adidas Yeezy's for a run.

 

[VictorTango777]

Actually, that’s exactly what it means.

Apple should release some one size fits all shoes for people to run in. See how stupid of an idea that is?

Do you one better... How about the exact same shoe for both of your feet, so one shoe for all feet?
[doublepost=1553371352][/doublepost]

Competition is great! Oh, wait...

But anyone who buys anything other than AirPods will be looked down upon and criticized in these forums, even if the other products would fit their ears better.

I suspect that many AirPods supporters are willfully accepting less than ideal fit so they can justify having the Apple chip. These people may also play with technicalities, i.e. word salad:

They loosened enough that I have to nudge them back in my ear every few minutes, but they did not completely fall out of my ear and onto the ground, so technically I can say "they never fell out of my ears".

AirPods fit the way I like it in one ear but keep coming loose in the other ear, so technically I can say "AirPods fit my ear just fine".